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Eight Bodman Attorneys Named 2016 'Lawyers of the Year' by The Best Lawyers in America

By: Bodman PLC

02/08/16

The internationally recognized peer-review journal The Best Lawyers in America has named eight Bodman PLC attorneys “Lawyers of the Year” for 2016. This list includes Timothy R. Damschroder, Alan Nathan Harris, Susan M. Kornfield, David P. Larsen, Marguerite Munson Lentz, Dennis J. Levasseur, Larry R. Shulman, and Thomas Van Dusen.

The Best Lawyers in America is the nation’s oldest attorney-rating publication and one of the most respected peer-review journals in the world.  Being named “Lawyer of the Year” means an attorney has earned a high level of respect from other leading attorneys in the same community and practice area.  Only one attorney per practice area and community achieves the Lawyer of the Year designation each year.

Damschroder has been named 2016 Ann Arbor Lawyer of the Year for Corporate Law. He is the chairperson of Bodman’s Business Practice Group. He advises clients in matters involving mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, general business, corporate governance, securities offerings, and tax. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Washtenaw County United Way and the Washtenaw County Red Cross, the Development Council of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, and on various committees of Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor. Damschroder was appointed to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund Board by Governor Snyder in 2013, where he serves as Treasurer of the Fund.

Harris has been named 2016 Ann Arbor Lawyer of the Year for two practice areas: Trademark Law and Litigation-Patent. He primarily assists clients in matters involving intellectual property law, including dispute resolution and transactional work in the areas of copyright, trademark, technology transfer, trade secret, computer law, and Internet law. He also counsels clients in all aspects of information management, including strategic development of records retention and destruction protocols, electronic discovery solutions, and data theft response. Harris is immediate past president and a current member of the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House of Ann Arbor. He founded the Pro Bono Legal Clinic of the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan.

Kornfield has been named 2016 Ann Arbor Lawyer of the Year for Copyright Law.  She assists clients in intellectual property matters, including information systems acquisitions, copyrights, trademarks, e-commerce, noncompete agreements and other post-employment restrictions, and protection against economic espionage. She handles transactional and litigation matters and has been lead counsel in national intellectual property litigation.  Kornfield is co-chair of Bodman’s Pro Bono Committee and served for many years as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She has served as an adjunct professor of copyright law at the University of Michigan Law School, as an adjunct professor of intellectual property law with the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and as an adjunct professor of copyright law with the University of Michigan School of Information.

Larsen has been named 2016 Detroit Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Trusts and Estates. He represents individual clients and financial institutions in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, trust litigation, estate and gift tax, real estate transactions, the purchase, sale and lease of aircraft and watercraft, and closely-held business transactions and succession. He is chair of Bodman’s Individual Clients Practice Group and vice chair of Bodman’s Executive Committee. Larsen serves on the Board of the Detroit Crime Commission.

Lentz has been named 2016 Detroit Lawyer of the Year for Trusts and Estates. She concentrates her practice in representing high net worth individuals in estate planning, probate, and trusts. She regularly advises nonprofit and tax exempt organizations regarding obtaining and maintaining exempt status, corporate governance, and general operational issues. She is a member of Inforum and a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel.

Levasseur has been named 2016 Detroit Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Banking and Finance. He practices intellectual property litigation, franchise/dealer litigation, complex commercial litigation, and securities litigation and arbitration, primarily for securities broker-dealers, in proceedings throughout the United States. He is a founder of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He serves as the Legal/Government Committee chair and on the Executive Board as the vice president for legal affairs of the Detroit Historical Society. Levasseur is city attorney for the City of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

Shulman has been named 2016 Detroit Lawyer of the Year for Banking and Finance Law. He represents lenders in commercial loan originations. His practice also encompasses loan workouts, contract and other general business matters, as well as counseling lenders on lender liability issues. He has extensive experience representing lenders providing credit enhancements for commercial paper back-up facilities and municipal bonds and representing lenders purchasing tax exempt bonds. In addition, he represents lenders acting in non-lending capacities such as trustee or escrow agent. Shulman served for ten years as chairman of Bodman’s Executive Committee. Currently, he serves on the boards of directors for the JARC Foundation, Starfish Family Services, and Forgotten Harvest.

Van Dusen has been named 2016 Troy Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Trusts and Estates. He advises clients in litigation and alternative dispute resolution matters, primarily in the areas of commercial, insurance, and personal injury defense including arbitration hearings, bench trials, jury trials and appeals. He is a member of the National Diocesan Attorneys Association, the Defense Research Institute, the American Arbitration Association panel of arbitrators, and the Michigan Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions.

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